ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd Join Forces on Rebels & Bandoleros Tour

The Rebels & Bandoleros Tour starring ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd launches this May, joining two of the most iconic bands in the history of American rock. The two groups, whose respective histories have been intertwined since the early 1970s,

By BassPlayer
, Mar 30, 2011

The Rebels & Bandoleros Tour starring ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd launches this May, joining two of the most iconic bands in the history of American rock. The two groups, whose respective histories have been intertwined since the early 1970s, are set for a string of tour dates together starting May 12 in Wichita, Kansas and continuing for the next three weeks. The tour marks the first time in many years that these iconic standard-bearers of Southern Rock will have toured so extensively together.

The two bands first joined forces in 1974 when Houston-based ZZ Top invited Lynyrd Skynyrd, then an emerging new band from Jacksonville, to become part of The Outlaw Tour that year. Ultimately, ZZ Top, which had formed in 1969, would go on to become the major band with the longest running original lineup in music history—Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard.

Tragedy struck Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1977 when a plane crash took the lives of band members Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines. Today’s Lynyrd Skynyrd includes founding member Gary Rossington along with Johnny Van Zant, brother of the late Ronnie Van Zant, as well as Rickey Medlocke, Michael Cartellone, Mark “Sparky” Matejka, Robert Kearns, Peter Keys Dale Krantz Rossington and Carol Chase.

Both bands Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, ZZ was inducted by Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones in 2004 and Skynyrd in 2006 by Kid Rock. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s most recently released album is God & Guns while ZZ Top’s forthcoming, as yet untitled, album is expected later this year.“Rebels and Bandolers is more of a coming together of friends more than a mere tour,” Billy Gibbons commented. “We’re delighted to be hitting the road with our Skynyrd brethren once more. It’s going to be a great ride.”

Johnny Van Zant remarked, “Eleven years ago we toured together for eleven months straight. We love the guys in ZZ and their music, and can’t wait to get back out on the road with them. This show is an event that the fans are going to love. Two legendary bands in one night – what more can the fans ask for to kick off the summer of 2011!”